Apparatus for the removal and recovery of oils and grease from oil laden water and the like



E. RIDLEY :n l ll In 1/ e n for: Alfred Edward Ridley. WW8 fltty s.

Aug. 15, 1933.

APPARATUS FOR THE REMOVAL AND RECOVERY OF OILS AND GREASE FROM OIL LADENWATER AND THE LIKE Filed March 11,

Patented Aug. 15, 1933 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE Ailired EdwardRidley, Llanelly, England Application March 11,

and in Great Br L Claim.

This invention relates to apparatus for the removal and recovery of oilsand grease from oilladen water and the like and more especially frombilge and ballast water of steam and oil driven ships, condenser waterand so forth.

According to the invention the apparatus generally consists of a mainreceiving tank or vat, the dirty oil and the grease laden water from thebilges, double bottoms and so on or from condensers being delivered intoa first section or" such tank or vat by means of a pipe onto a conewhich spreads the iiow of water onto an antisplash tray from which itcan fall easily into said first section 01 the tank, which can be linedwith a removable container. The oil and grease floating on the surfacethereof pass through a perforated and slotted division wall orpartitiondisposed in the tank, into a second section said water having beensteadied in the first section.

The oil and grease laden water then passes through a series or" guideplates arranged in the second section of the tank which further deflectsand steadies the flow of water in its travel or path to a third sectioninto which section or chamber the oil passes over another divisionplate. The level of the water is controlled by a float and by a valvearranged in or on the, main discharge pipe, any water which may passover the top edge of the second division plate being returned to thesecond section of the tank through a connection or pipe communicatingbetween the two, or drained away to a suitable receiver.

The oil or grease which is recovered in the third section or chamber iscarried away to a filter or to oil storage bunkers for re-use or tanksdisposed at a suitable level, through an outlet pipe from said thirdsection.

The main discharge pipe is carried upwards into the main air snore coverpipe which is provided with a snore piece so that in the event of thewater falling below the level of the top' of the main discharge pipe nooil or grease can pass away there-through as it automatically snores inclean air. The lower part of the snore piece comes down over the upperinlet part of the main discharge pipe.

The level of the water may, as previously stated also be controlled bythe float and valve to give a double assurance that all oil and greaseis recovered and removed from the oil laden water and that only cleansedwater is discharged from the discharge pipe into the sea, river, storagereservoir or wherever else required.

The oil and grease so recovered can be purified for service again in theusual manner, or

1931, Serial No. 521,835, itain July 16, 1930 used for power generationin crude oil engines and the like.

Provision is also made for the application of heat or steam in very coldweather for liqueiying heavy oil or thick grease laden water, when thismight be necessary.

The control valve and float may in some cases be dispensed with orfitted inside the snore cover pipe.

The hot dirty water for instance from condensers can thus be treated andused for boiler feeding with resultant economy and the hot condenseroverflow water can be fed directly to the economizer instead of coldwater.

For marine work the hot dirty water from the condenser can be thustreated and all or part of it used for feeding evaporators. Thetemperature of the condenser discharge would materially aidevaporization, thus increasing the efficiency of the evaporator.

In order that the invention may be fully understood reference will behad to the accompanying drawing in which: Figure 1 is a sectionallongitudinal elevation of an apparatus constructed according to theinvention.

Fig. 2 is a corresponding plan; Fig. 3 is an end View Fig. 4 is alongitudinal section of a simplified apparatus. Fig. 5 is a plan view ofFig. 4 connected up with an oil receiving tank for use in connectionwith garages, works and so on. Figs. 6 to 9 show forms in which theapparatus may be constructed.

According to Figs. 1 to 3, the apparatus which is particularly suitablefor the prevention of coastal pollution by oil, the recovery of the oilfor re-use and for the de-oiling of hot condenser discharge and thereturn of clean hot water to evaporator and/or economizers and boilers,consists of a main tank A, a first section A receiving the pollutedwater from a pipe B on to a cone C spreading the same on to ananti-splash tray D from which it falls into said first section A The oiland grease fioat on the surface thereof and pass through a perforateddivision E into the section A then through a series of guide plates F todeflect and steady the flow of water to a third section A to which theoil passes over or through another perforated division plate G the levelof water being controlled by a float H and a valve I arran ed in or onthe main discharge pipe J. Any water flowing over the top edge of theplate G is returned to section A through a communicating pipe K.

It will be observed that the bottom of the section A is disposed at orabove the level of the water in the section A and as the level of saidwater is controlled by the float H said water is prevented from risingthrough the pipe K into the section A The oil or grease recovered in Ais taken to a filter through a pipe L, or to suitable tanks for re-use.

The main discharge pipe J passes upward into the main air snore pipe Mprovided with a snore piece M Bafiles or deflectors A may also beprovided to steady the flow of water.

For use in land work these baffles A as also the plates F mayadvantageously be omitted.

In the construction shown in Figs. 4 and 5 which is a simple form foruse in connection with garages or works, a removable container N forsolids is provided beneath the grid or drain N and the valve M would bedisposed inside at the top of the entrance to the discharge pipe J. Itis shown connected to an oil receiving vessel P.

Figures 6 to 9 show skeleton diagrams of various forms in which theapparatus may be constructed according to the particular purpose forwhich it is destined, the exact shape and disposition of the chambersand parts described being modified to suit actual requirements.

I claim:'

Apparatus for the removal and recovery of oils and grease from oil-ladenwater comprising a main tank, a partition dividing said main tank intotwo sections, an inlet pipe for conveying polluted water into onesection, a cone beneath the inlet for receiving the polluted water, atray beneath said cone, said cone and tray preventing the splashing ofthe entering polluted water, perforations in said partition, the surfacewater in the receiving section flowing through said perforations intothe next section of the main tank, a discharge pipe for clean water, anair snore pipe to said discharge pipe, a valve in said discharge pipe, afloat controlling said valve, an oil tank, a wall dividing said oil tankfrom said main tank, said wall having perforations, the oil lying on thewater in said main. tank passing through said perforations into said oiltank, an oil discharge pipe connected with said oil tank, and a pipecommunicating with the main and oil tanks for the return of extraneouswater in the oil tank to the main tank.

ALFRED EDWARD RIDLEY.

